According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of 

information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0579-0090. The time 

required to complete this information collection is estimated to average between .083 and .17 hours per response, including the time for reviewing 

instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. 

OMB Approved

0579-0090 

Exp.: 08/2026 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE 

VETERINARY SERVICES 

PARASITE 

SUBMISSION FORM 

NATIONAL VETERINARY SERVICES LABORATORIES 

1920 Dayton Avenue 

Ames, IA 50010 

Telephone: 515-337-7514 

INSTRUCTIONS: Print in pencil or type. Prepare separate form for each species of animal. Form to accompany specimen. Package specimens well to prevent breakage 

en route. 

1. Submitter’s Name 2. NVSL Submitter ID 17. Specimen ID 18. Date Collected 

3. Business’ Name 19. County in which Collected 20. State in which Collected 

4. Address 21. Country in which Collected 22. Premises ID 

5. City 6. State 7. ZIP Code 23. Latitude 24. Longitude 

8. Telephone Number (Include Area Code) 9. FAX Number 25. Host Origin 

10. Email 26. Host Species (cow, horse, sheep, dog, etc.) 

11. Owner’s Name 27. Where Found on Host (head, ear, flank, back, etc.) 

12. City 13. State 14. ZIP Code 28. Animal ID 

15. Collector’s Name 16. Port 29. Number of Animals in Lot 30. Number of Animals Infested 

31. History or Additional Information 

FOR FIELD LABORATORY USE ONLY (Optional) 

32. Date Received 33. Date Identified 34. Referral Number 

35. Tentative Identification 

Identified by: 

FOR NATIONAL VETERINARY SERVICES LABORATORIES USE ONLY 

36. Case Number 37. Sample Number 38. Date Received 

39. NVSL Identification 

40. NVSL Accession Number 

Identified By: Date 

VS FORM 5-38 

SEPT 2009 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GUIDELINES AND EXPLANATORY DETAILS FOR VS FORM 5-38: PARASITE SUBMISSION FORM 

USDA, APHIS, VS, NATIONAL VETERINARY SERVICES LABORATORIES, AMES IA 

INSTRUCTIONS: Print in pencil or type. Form must accompany specimen. Package specimens to prevent leakage en route. Despite best efforts, specimen vials 

may break or leak alcohol in transit; when that happens, accompanying forms that were completed in ink may become illegible. 

1-10. Submitter Information: If the submitter has an ID assigned previously by NVSL, give the name of the submitter and that ID. For new submitters, or if the ID is not 

known, please also give the name of the business, mailing address, email address, and telephone and FAX numbers, to whom the identification report will be sent. Specify if 

there is a preferred method of report delivery; email will be used if no preference is stated. If FAX or email is not available, test reports can be mailed but this will delay 

delivery of your results. Repeat submitters are encouraged to be consistent with the submitter contact information that they provide, as the NVSL keeps a master record. If 

the test report for an individual submission needs to be routed to a non-standard destination, include special instructions in Block 31 (History or additional information). 

11-14. Owner Information: Give the name, city, State, and ZIP Code of the owner of the host animal. 

15. Collector’s Name: For multiple collectors, additional names may be given in History or additional information (Field 31). 

16. Port: Enter the port of entry, if applicable. 

17. Specimen ID: The collector may indicate an identifier for a sample, usually denoting samples taken in series (1, 2, 3, etc.). Please also put that number or other 

identifier on or in the associated sample container. Also, see instructions for Referral Number (Field 34). 

18. Date Collected: Enter the calendar date on which the sample was collected from the host animal. 

19-21. County, State, and Country in which specimens were collected: Specify country only for non-USA collection locales. 

22-24. Premises ID, Latitude, and Longitude: Give the Premises ID and/or geographical coordinates (if known). List coordinates as decimal degrees when possible (e.g., 

N27.087821 and W92.021484). 

25. Host Origin: Indicate the county, State, and country (if not the USA) of origin of the host animal. 

26. Host Species (Cow, horse, sheep, dog, etc.): State the host species from which the parasites were collected. Give only one species, be as specific as possible, and 

avoid generic terms like “equine”, “avian”, “reptile”, “canine”, “feline”, etc. Use a separate parasite submission form for each host species. If using “deer”, list the kind of deer 

(white-tailed, mule, etc.). For convenience, names used as examples may be encircled or underlined. 

27. Where Found on Host (head, ear, flank, back, etc.): Indicate one or more anatomical sites where the specimen(s) was/were found. Names used as examples may be 

encircled or underlined. 

28. Animal ID: Give ear/back tag numbers, animal name, or other information that identifies the host animal. 

29. Number of Animals in Lot: Give a count or estimate of the number of individual animals in the group from which the collection was made. 

30. Number of Animals Infested: Give a count or estimate of the number of individual animals in the lot that were infested with parasites; this count will be less than or 

equal to the number in the lot. 

31. History or Additional Information: This field is open-ended, and may be used to include any additional information pertinent to the collection (e.g., locale, history, 

quarantine status, additional collectors, etc.), observations on host animal’s condition, or additional details. This field also may be used for notes or requests to NVSL. 

Fields 32-35 are for tentative identifications made at a field laboratory. 

34. Referral number: Give submitter’s unique identification number assigned to the sample (e.g., foreign animal disease [FAD] investigation number). 

Fields 36-40 are for NVSL use only.